earlier in show we asked for your most creative tweets on the "duck dynasty" controversy. time "duck dynasty" controversy. this one. he's got the right to express his opinion no question. a & e has the right to say get lost. no question. free speech and capitalism meet up. "morning joe" starts right now. good morning. it is friday, december 20th. friday, everybody. aren't you glad? december 20th. with us on set, msnbc and "time" magazine -- >> have you done your christmas shopping? >> i'm ready. >> when did you get it done?

>> when i can. i plan things and i get it done. >> she's not telling me. >> i have your present. do you have mine? >> i'm working on it. it snuck up on us. >> i'm ready. >> it went so fast. >> i have your kids' presents. >> we got all these events and they give us these bags. seriously. so mika says give me yours too. she takes them in the basement. >> i have been known to stack all year long. >> is that why you're ready? >> it's one of the reasons. i have a pile of stuff that i accrue over the years. msnbc swag, but that's not -- no. i went christmas shopping. >> did you really? >> yes, i did. >> when did you have time? >> i'm organized. >> through all my talk about amazon and going on there. >> are you ready, joe >> i turned around and it was

like december 18th. >> she's watching fewer fuller matches than you. >> yes. >> not into australian rule football. >> actually this will be funny. msnbc and "time" magazine senior political analyst mark halperin. i love my vitamix. >> why people buy expensive blenders. >> she looks a lot latier than me. >> she does. >> i'm portly lately. white house correspondent for the associated press julie pace. what's wrong with that? i'm happy with it. do you want to know my weight? >> no. >> 138. i hit an all time high. >> from bloomberg "business

week" josh green. it's off the rails already. so, thank you guys for being with us. we have a lot to talk about. >> yes, we do. why don't we start right now with news. congratulations, you moved me along. >> i sure did. i'll just start giving personal information out. >> the obama administration is making final prep regulates before the health care law tax penalty is going into effect 2014. >> last night white house officials announced americans who had their health care policies cancelled will not be penalized. they can get an exemption freeing them to require to have health insurance by the first of the year and many can purchase the most basic of plan. in response, the insurance industry's main trade group issued a statement reading quote, this latest rule change could cause significant instability in the marketplace

and lead to further confusion and disruption for consumers. republican lawmakers have claimed the number of cancelations would exceed the number of people signing up for health care through exchanges. however, the white house refutes that claim saying fewer than 500,000 have lost coverage because of the law. >> the white house itself in 2010 predicted that up to two-thirds of americans would lose their insurance and have to go into these exchanges. now we're talking about a year delay. has ted cruz won? >> well -- >> is this what ted cruz was looking for >> the administration is helping ted cruz. the insurance industry is spending hundreds of billions of dollars to market this and promote this which they say it will work. and they just cut their knees.

>> isn't the liberal argument, hasn't it been for some time without the individual mandate -- it makes sense. if you don't have an individual mandate where you force people to get insurance, then you don't have a large enough market, you don't have the scale to make this work. >> what you don't have you can't compel the younger healthier people that law needs network to purchase insurance. this isn't a delay of the individual mandate. this is a delay of the mandate just for people who had insurance who lost it and who might not have time to get it before the deadline. that's a big deal but a much smaller portion of the population than simply delaying the entire mandate for everybody. >> but this is driving the insurance companies crazy. every week you have a couple of recommendation, mandatory things. these companies have to make a plan if this insurance starts on january 1st. >> if you don't do it to scale, if you don't have enough people going in there, then the

requirements on pre-existing conditions it doesn't work. you pull the string and you keep pulling it unravels. >> this is a carefully orchestrated law where one piece doesn't work it can affect the whole chain. what the administration is focused is not on the top line number they walked away from this 7 million estimate. they say it doesn't matter what the top line number is as long as the mix of people is right. but josh has a great point. if you're delaying these provisions it makes it a lot harder to convince a young healthy person that they have to sign up. >> when we talk about the delay, they've taken this issue off -- it's not a criticism, the politician in me said well they just helped mary landrieu. they just helped every democrat that was running to get away from this broken promise until at least after the 2014

elections. >> three groups that matter to the white house. one democrats up for re-election. one the insurance companies. then there's the american public. every time there's pressure from the democrats, they hit the insurance companies who at some point are going to lose patience. >> sounds like they are. this isn't the first time the insurance industry said okay we signed up, we're heaping you and as al said you're cutting us off at our knees. >> that third group, the public they are under estimating what this will have an impact on. you talk to people who say it's too complicated. the system is weird. i'll just wait because there will be another delay, another change, never get the sign ups until people feel this is america's health care system. >> josh's point earlier was correct. when you see headlines. another rule on health care scaled back. you're sitting out there and saying what is this thing? >> al, do republicans have a point and columnists have a point that it's disturbing this

law which was passed after a year and a half battle can be changed unilaterally by the white house one day. you wake up one morning and suddenly they passed another rule. >> i don't think there's any serious legal question. i think the white house clearly can do it. from a public policy vantage point it's terrible policy. it's ad hoc. everything has transpired in the last couple of months with the exception of the website by all accounts is getting a lot better. >> is that basically what everybody is hearing? >> if you go on to it. if you went on in october it was a disaster. you got error messages. now it's better. they say it will be prepared for really heavy volume this weekend when people try to get online. >> can i ask you a question? why would you if this weekend was the heavy volume, why would you put this message out on friday basically telling

everybody hey don't worry you don't have to do it. >> democratic senators. >> before this weekend. >> january is going to be a nightmare. a lot of confusion. a lot of people who think they have coverage and don't. people who are showing up at hospitals and getting their prescriptions filled. white house is sensitive to pressure from democratic senators. >> those are stories you don't want. somebody shows up in january and they are not insured. >> there's a lack of confidence. we're now down to -- there's just a few days before the new year. they need to make sure people are signed up. make sure they have insurance on january 1st. it's clear they don't have that confidence and thus the delay. >> the other thing is after they totally screwed up and they had to bring in someone in. they need someone to run the

policy. there's no one in charge of this policy. >> where is kathleen sebelius? >> she hasn't had a good couple of months. >> she hasn't. she's capable? >> i always thought she was very capable. i don't know if the white house sometimes which is loathe to delegate as much power as they should if they are partially culpable. she has other duties. somebody ought to be spending 28 hours a day. >> she's got be rehabilitated or gone. somebody needs the norman schwarzkopf of this. she's very capable but she's been tainted. >> julie pace, why isn't she rehabilitated or gone? why is the white house leaving her -- again leaving her in this middle ground? >> it's one of these flaws that this white house has sometimes where they want to control the policy internally but they got so much stuff going on

internally that they can't so they leave someone out there that you could empower, you could say you're the face of health care. but she has had a rough couple of weeks. when every time she goes out to talk she has a misstep or hasn't read the talking points when she was talking about the cancellations. they have to make a decision and make it pretty quick. either empower kathleen sebelius or find somebody else who will be the face of this law. >> after weeks of debate, governor chris christie is poised to sign his state's version of a dream act that will allow undocumented immigrants to pay reduced tuition to attend in-state public colleges. governor christie long avoided wading in to the immigration debate but on thursday he hailed the deal. >> this is what compromise looks like. i'll wait for apology letters to come in while some said i wasn't

serious about tuition equality and this was an election prank. the fact is that sometimes compromise is quiet and happens in small rooms. sometimes compromise is the result of public arguments. >> the final version will not include tuition grants for undocumented students prompting a reporter to ask whether they were being treated as second class citizens. christie responded by saying quote they can't be second class citizens they are because they are not citizens. >> wasn't this an issue that got rick perry in trouble in iowa in the debates, he talked about the need to be compassionate to these children who were not responsible for their parents' decisions? >> he used the word heartless that people didn't agree with him. didn't have a heart. one thing people love about chris christie, he really does

decide what he thinks to do he does it and explain it. he thinks financial aid goes too far. very few states do financial aid. new jersey is the fifth state if they passed it. this is good for him. there's all this talk of him. i think for him when he does what he thinks is right he's very strong. >> the politics on the dreamers in particular have changed for the republicans since the 2012 election. eric cantor has come out and talked about doing something for dreamers. he's drafting legislation. republicans feel like if they are going to take on imgrigs reform this is a pretty safe political piece of it. >> most americans would say it's unfair to penalize children for the decisions of their parents. >> chris christie recognizes you can't rerun mitt romney mitt ro

campaign. >> it's all about picking and choosing your battles. you can do a lot of things up to citizenship which won't make the media or democrats happy and even some independents happy but at the same time if republican candidates are picking and choosing some of these areas it certainly -- again, casts people like chris christie in a different light than mitt romney. >> absolutely. perry was clobbered in iowa by that but came back to mitt romney. mitt romney couldn't understand why am i doing so badly. maybe because you told them for a year you didn't like him. republicans have to lead the a very careful needle. they will have trouble putting through five or six individual bills in the house for a very simple reason. there's enough to say no caucus that won't vote for anything. they need democratic votes. so it's still a real kabuki

dance. >> i think you're right because of the house. certainly democrats in the senate are going to have to accept a lot less than they want. you're not going to get -- you're not going to get citizenship through the house of representatives. >> legalization through. >> you'll get legalization through. democrats say if there's not a pathway to citizenship we're not going to support a bill. there's not a pathway to citizenship. >> senator reid i don't think will move a bill without a pathway to citizenship. >> the key figure in the house is paul ryan. now that paul ryan has been freed up from the budget battles, i think he wants to do it because he believes in it and this is -- >> you talking about after

citizenship or -- >> a form. >> some republicans believe in it. two, they got to do better with hispanic voters. three, to keep the focus on obamacare, take everything else off the table. last reason, they don't want to be the do nothing congress. they have to prove the republican majority can work. >> let me say it again so people on websites can show me it won't happen. the pathway to citizenship will never happen in 2014. >> i agree. >> never. how is that. i've given you guys so much ammunition. cantor is drafting up is a possibility. paul ryan will be big player. i think you'll see more modest steps. and so the big question is, is harry reid going to make perfect enemy of the good. is he going to act like republicans acted in the house

in october. if so and if he continues to kill one bill after bill after another bill, republicans should run on making the harry reid and demonstrate senators supporting him now. >> it won't be easy to get those bills through. >> do you think pelosi kills a dream act in the house. >> that's the test. i think she has to have something. you may be right. there won't be a pathway to citizenship. but there will be something that leads to a pathway to a citizenship for a number of undocumented workers. >> therei don't think there's a to split that baby between the house and harry reid. >> it would be sad if harry reid allowed millions of undocumented immigrants to continue to have

them live in the shadows of american society. that would make me sad. i hope harry reid doesn't kill any opportunity here. >> harry reid is america. >> this is harry reid's america. democrats the party move to. >> good try. >> think how much nicer it would be if he can give them citizenship after they paid their dues. the onus is more on the republicans. >> that doesn't shock me. i think it's about fairness the end of the day on citizenship and we treat all potential immigrants to this country the same. >> okay. we'll finish this conversation later because we have so much to get to. >> level playing field. >> target, "duck dynasty," that we're going to actually talk about josh right now. we'll get to those in the next block because you killed me with time here. josh writes in the latest issue of bloomberg "business week" about the cult of vitamix.

a vitamix blender is a symphony of precision engineering with motor, container and blades work in powerful harmony. the angled blades which travel at speeds up to 240 miles per hour simply obliterates whatever is inside. the process crates enough pricktion to boil soup. it retails for $449 is one of the cheaper models. vitamix expects to sell 1.4 million blenders this year. vitamix is colonizing the kitchens of upscale professionals every where and taking on totemic status. they've become an icon for healthy eating. i sense you're kind of making fun of it too. >> no. i'm part of this cult too. these blenders if you're not familiar with them is one of the

great unheralded -- >> this is an infomercial. look at josh. >> so this trend towards healthy living. you see smoothy shops in every corner. dunkin' donuts is serving themg. what americans used to eat for breakfast before they got healthy. >> steak and eggs. >> tell me why this is a big story that you posed? >> it's a huge business. i write the great american smoothy boom. you have all sorts of people who want to get more healthy. willing to drop $500 for a blender. who use it basically, it's become this lifestyle where it's an easy way to eat healthier, use to it make smoothies for my

kids. ryan seacrest -- >> what is going on? >> he's the biggest evangelist for smoothies. >> it's burning. i'm fine with steak grease. >> what happened? what just happened? >> so, this has become a huge business. >> so these blendsers are expensive. we'll do this total infomercial right now. they are really expensive but i talked to people that will spend lots of money every day to get these smoothies and have people bring them -- like these service that they are starting up. >> this is an extension. people get hooked on the juice. take at that sip and i'll watch you break into hives. >> is there apple in there? >> there is.

what? bring me some more doughnut? >> good? >> it's terrific. >> mika i sit 20 feet from josh green and we usually talk about politic, there's pieces on obama campaign. i've never seen him so excited as he's been in the last month over this piece. >> the truth is there's a huge boom. what's driving the business story honestly are men. >> what's in this? >> kale, banana, apple cider. look. there have been three transformations. people are into organic food. >> can this chop up bacon. >> i should have made you a bacon smoothy. you can grind coffee.

>> let's next time do steak, eggs, bacon smoothy. >> with a squeeze of lemon. >> coming up on "morning joe," "hardball's" chris matthews will welcome back us. msnbc's andrea mitchell. david grower and cardinal donald wuerl will join us. next the top stories in "the politico" playbook. bill karins has a check on the forecast. >> weekend warm and toasty in d.c. 70 by sunday. yesterday was 60 in d.c. people thought that was warm. wait until sunday opinion let's talk about this crazy december weather we're going on. this is a roller coaster ride. temperatures are going up and crash right down before christmas. as far as the warm air goes this morning it's 46 in d.c. at 67 to start your morning in texas. what's going on, summer like

morning. we do have freezing rain out there. be careful on the roads north chicago, milwaukee, iowa, in wisconsin. just some plain old rain through the ohio valley. but this weekend it's going to rain hard over a snow pack areas of illinois, indiana and ohio as much as three to five inches of rain and for that reason we're concerned with potential of flooding. biggest concern, today we're okay, just some isolated storms in texas. by saturday we could see strong thunderstorms in the deep south feign live from the memphis area to central louisiana even the possibility of some rare december tornadoes, so keep that in your plans if you're running around get urge errands day for christmas saturday could be a dangerous day for the deep south. be aware for the possibility of isolated tornado. a shot of times square in new york city and new york city will be in the 60s over the next three days and the temperatures come crashing down to the 20s by the time we reach tuesday. you're watching "morning joe".

we're aig. and we're here. to help secure retirements and protect financial futures. to help communities recover and rebuild. for companies going from garage to global. on the ground, in the air, even into space. we repaid every dollar america lent us. and gave america back a profit. we're here to keep our promises.

to help you realize a better tomorrow. from the families of aig, happy holidays.

♪ ♪ ♪ verizon now has the gifts everyone wants. that's powerful. verizon.

let's take a look at the morning papers. we'll start with "usa today." dozens of people are hurt the morning after a theater ceiling collapsed in london's west end. theater goers reported hearing a cracking sound in the middle of the packed performance. audience members said it became detect dark and dusty when a 100-foot section of the lighting grid came down. first responders set up triage areas in store fronts and restaurants. 83 patients were seated. no one was killed. >> from the "boston globe," the backlash against target continues to mount this morning after 40 million credit card

accounts, 40 million were compromised. the retailer says the breach happened between november 27th and december 15th. credit and debit card numbers, names, expiration dates and security numbers were all compromised. target is now warning customers to pay close attention their bank statements. >> "san francisco chronicle," facebook along with mark zuckerberg will sell more than 70 million shares totalling $4 billion. zuckerberg will part with $2 billion worth of stock to use towards taxes and charity work. facebook will use the money to cover corporate expenses. the news comes ahead of facebook's entry into the s&p 500 index later today. >> this comes from san jose mercury news, an online secret santa exchange. she found out her secret santa was bill gates. it paired participants around

the world. her gift package include travel book, a stuffed cow and a donation to heiffer international. >> "new york times," the new york city council is extending the ban on public smoking to e-cigarettes. it's part of michael bloomberg's final push before leaving office at the end of the month. in addition plastic food containers have until february of 2015 that their products can be recycled. the e-cigarettes are helping people quit smoking, are they not? >> yes. if bloomberg had gotten one more term he would have been able to ban sex in new york city. banned everything else. >> i know what he's trying to

do. it's controversial. >> you haven't taken a position on banning sex? >> should we go to the "daily news"? >> it must be good. >> "new york daily news." >> unknown secret santa dropped $3,500 diamond ring into a salvation army bucket. it came with a note please continue your good work in caring for the needy. salvation army said it's the fourth year in a row they received a diamond ring during the holiday season. >> "parade" magazine features ben stiller who stars in the new will "the secret life of walter

mitty." >> i haven't figured out if it's going to be a good movie. >> let's go to politico, mike allen who is here. >> good morning. happy friday. >> happy friday. >> okay, mike. earlier this week the president got 46 recommendations on how, from the task force and the white house on what to do with the nsa. this morning you have an exclusive look at which of the changes he might actually implement. >> when they put out the report and i think julie had the same thought, i figured they wouldn't hatch put it out if they weren't going to do most of these recommendations. we checked around and sure enough that's true. people close to the white house say that he plans to do a bunch of them, including having the data that they sweep up, verizon and other providers not with the government also having more adult supervision of the nsa, third-party guidance, including from the white house on who we

collect on, what we collect and some priorities in doing it rather than sweeping up everything. they said look at his past, he's a constitutional law professor, this blue ribbon panel gives him the cover to do what he wanted to do anyway. >> let me change topics. the third story in politico right now, max baucus, selected to go china. politico reports it sent shockwaves through the senate. i was on capitol hill, spoke with half-dozen senators yesterday. shock is a good word. i'll be honest. a lot of laughter in the republican meeting about, you know, really? max baucus has been to china five, six times. >> he has a passport. >> we'll make him ambassador? that's pretty remarkable, is it not? >> fascinating. the rarest thing on capitol hill is a true surprise. and this really was. and our story reveals that a key

part of it was the president's campaign manager and worked with baucus, a montana guy. came to him and said what would you think of this? baucus thought about it and said sure. >> here are the politics of it. max baucus leaves. that means they can appoint a democrat. that allows mary landrieu to be the head of the energy committee. is this about politics? >> it clearly works for democrats. let me say i don't know what kind of bass dar mof ambassador baucus will be but he's been involved in trade negotiations. so i don't think the idea -- i think sometimes politicians max mansfield, howard baker can be a

good ambassador. >> why did they do this? >> they haven't officially announced it yet. when you look at this it's hard to see this as anything other than a play to take a democrat in montana who is not very well known in the states put him in the snarkts raienate, raise his and help democrats hold on to the seat. if that's what happens max baucus went along with it. >> mary can go around louisiana saying i'm a chair person of the energy committee. i'm the most powerful person in the senate maybe on capitol hill on these energy issues that matter. >> politics come pouring in. >> the bucks come in and it helps her. ate big play for her. >> i assume they commemorate rahm emanuel. it has all good political implications. the relationship is so

important. tom donelan focused quite a bit on china. >> asian leaders -- first of all japanese are excited that caroline kennedy is there. they have a star. people in foreign policy said really to japan the second largest economy in the world and now we're sending another rookie to china? there's been grumbling for the past six months about this pivot away from asia. this is another suggestion that -- again, i like max. great senator. the signal that this sends combined with caroline kennedy who we also know and like very well, i like my mom i wouldn't make her ambassador to china right now. >> it's definitely a move that will raise some eyebrows in asia at a time when they are already looking at the white house and saying hey you guys promised us

a lot in this presidency that's why joe biden was in asia earlier this month trying to shore up -- >> cancelled the trip to asia. >> they did send on joe biden. >> another way that this is about the u.s. and not about china, you look one more chess move, the chairman of the finance committee will be senator ron widen of oregon, more liberal than baucus. >> that was going to happen anyway. >> right. we're talking about where they are on it. like before. looks like with paul ryan as ways and mean chairman 2015 it will happen. you have a more obama friendly voice running that. >> i don't know if this is true for max baucus. one reason that japanese are pleased with caroline kennedy she has the ear of the president. that matters. you can appoint the most

distinguished ambassador in the world but if he doesn't that have ear of the president. >> that matters more to the japanese than the chinese. >> it matters to both. >> mike allen, thank you so much. have a wonderful weekend. >> i want my chicken and waffles vitamix here. >> i don't know how that happened. coming up, a reality show -- it was bizarre -- a reality show controversy turns into a political football. the latest on the suspension of a "duck dynasty" star. more "morning joe" straight ahead. humans.

even when we cross our t's and dot our i's, we still run into problems. namely, other humans. which is why, at liberty mutual insurance, auto policies come with new car replacement and accident forgiveness if you qualify. see what else comes standard at libertymutual.com. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

all right. the controversy surrounding the suspension of a "duck dynasty" star is getting political. on wednesday executives at the show's network a & e announced they would suspend phil robertson for remarks he made 0 on homosexuality. senator ted cruz took to facebook to write this. the mainstream media should not behave as the thought police censoring the views which they disagree. and bobby jindal wrote this. it is a messed up situation when

miley cyrus gates laugh and phil robertson gets suspended. >> he was reciting a part of the gospel. the liberal left must feel that the gospel then is insulting and offensive. >> he's a good man. i know he's got love in his heart. he wants everybody to be treated with equality and respect. >> a & e were quacks on this one. >> here's where i think it's so hypocritical of a & e and the left. they are say they are for tolerance and minority views and opinions unless you disagree with them. >> so many american families have spilled blood and treasure to guarantee phil robertson and everybody else's right to voice their personal opinion. >> i think there's an ongoing assault for those right now that are speaking up for the religious beliefs. there's an assault from the left from anybody who dares disagree with them. >> so, we're going to talk about

this coming up. you agree with a lot of what bobby jindal said. >> if we're going to start looking at what stars are saying then we should look at what they are doing as well. and bobby jindal's point. was great. >> whether from the left or right. >> why was one of those things okay. the incident could endanger the wildly successful show. in a statement the family says they can't imagine the show going forward without him. quote while some of phil's unfiltered comments to the reporter were coarse, his beliefs are grounded in the teachings of the bible. phil is a goodly man who follows what the bible says are the greatest commandment, love the lord your god with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. phil would never incite orien courage hate. we are disappointed that phil has been placed on hiatus for expressing his faith which is his constitutionally protected

right. >> we'll talk more about this. we'll be right back with more "morning joe". people don't have to think about where their electricity comes from. they flip the switch-- and the light comes on. it's our job to make sure that it does. using natural gas this power plant can produce enough energy for about 600,000 homes. generating electricity that's cleaner and reliable, with fewer emissions--

it matters. ♪ [ male announcer ] this december, experience the gift of unsurpassed craftsmanship and some of the best offers of the year at the lexus december to remember sales event. this is the pursuit of perfection. [ female announcer ] at 100 calories, not all food choices add up. some are giant. some not so giant. when managing your weight, bigger is always better. ♪ ho ho ho ♪ green giant ♪ ho ho ho before using her new bank of america credit card, which rewards her for responsibly managing her card balance. before receiving $25 toward her balance each quarter for making more than her minimum payment on time each month. tracey got the bankamericard better balance rewards credit card,

which fits nicely with everything else in life she has to balance. that's the benefit of responsibility. apply online or visit a bank of america near you. but it doesn't usually work that way with health care. with unitedhealthcare, i get information on quality rated doctors, treatment options and cost estimates, so we can make better health decisions. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare.

all right. here with us now senior contributor, the daily caller, matt lewis and in new york, msnbc's thomas roberts. we'll continue the conversation about the "duck dynasty" controversy by reading your piece in the daily caller. matt you write this. "duck dynasty" versus pajama boy two americas. and this is interesting. much of the criticism coming from conservatives regarding a & e's decision has focused on fact that a, robertson was merely stating an are a though docks christian position and b, that this is just his opinion.

and he's entitled to it. and besides why are people so offended these days. but i'll make another observation. this may be an attack on unsophisticated country folks as much as it is an attack on orthodox christianity. when you consider the more effete cosmopolitan america that pajama boy represents you'll get a sense for why the "duck dynasty" folks are out of touch with today's acceptable norms. there is a huge schism between red state and america and america. >> you would agree that this is, though, conservatives do think that this is about what, not only orthodox christianity but the view of orthodox jews and muslims. >> a lot of americans believe that homosexuality is a sin.

and that's not an absurd or unique position to have. even if they are tolerant and okay with gay marriage they hold that fundamental tenet. we're heading in to a culture war. literally we have these two iconic images now, right, of pajama boy, this kind of cosmopolitan metro sexual versus -- could the "duck dynasty" guy be -- >> it's vampire weekend video. >> i don't look like that. >> maybe closer to pajama boy -- >> let me save you from yourself. where the skit after sarah palin was selected and before we figured out what sarah palin's shortcomings were as a political

candidate that there was just such a shock they had to go alaska and never been to alaska and they were scared to go to alaska. they were scared to leave manhattan. there is a great divide. we do see this sometimes in national politics when somebody comes from an area where we don't live. >> i think that, you know, there's a political thing the other thing where jake tapper talked about how there's a bias in journalism. not a lot of evangelicals or conservatives in the journalism business. but there's the rural versus city schism takes place. media outlets are based in new york and d.c. there's a disconnect with a lot of average americans. sarah palin never conformed to the way that city folks talk.

she like kills deer from helicopters. and i think that was -- >> weird to a lot of people. >> that's hard to do. >> kind of hard to do, shooting from the helicopter. >> let me bring you in, thomas. what do you say to bobby jindal's point of view and a lot of people's point of view that while what he said was coarse and he may have taken it a step too far in several places in the interview, that there are millions and millions of americans that believe homosexuality is a sin just like they believe divorce is a sin. just as they believe, you know, jesus says that even lusting after women is a sin and you should tear your eye out. >> i'm using my new ipad that my husband gave me. if we get intellectually honest and we look at what orthodox christianity means we can't

cherry pick what that means. while i don't think a lot of people would look at this interview and don't give a flying duck what phil robertson has to say, there are certain people that will raise thunder to a certain level. sarah palin will come out wearing a mixed thread camo shirt. she didn't show up to defend the right of free speech for one of our colleagues here. if we get intellectually honest about this we have to go through leviticus, shell fish and tatoos. the boys were on the christian broadcast. so why are we cherry picking what's a sin in the bible to elevate this conversation when he gave a disgusting interview to "gq." it seems a vagina as a man is

more than -- sin it's not logical. he goes on to throw adulterers on the fire, women lusting after men. lesbians get a free pass. >> obviously i could cite interviews from rock stars i've been listening to for 40 years and cite much more abhorrent behavior. >> this is a guy that grows a long beard and lures ducks into an untimely death. >> we don't demand when somebody says something abhorrent from the left that they are driven from -- >> joe, i don't think anybody demanded phil robertson be suspended. he came out free speech of what he had to say and has every

right didn't match up with their capitalist prospect of what a & e means to this show. they chastized him as an employer. these people make great money in their side business. they don't need a reality tv show. but they chose to raise their family to this level. >> do you think he should have been suspended because he said homosexuality is a sin? i guess that's -- >> that doesn't sound like why he's being suspended. >> i think he was suspended because there's more to it. he also goes into the, you know, the jim crow era of the south and say the african-american was happy pre-welfare, pre-entitlement. >> glaad and other groups were trying to, were pressuring a & e to suspend him. there were activists. but i worry about a situation now, this guy, you know, phil

robertson has no constitutional the right have a tv show. i worry about the chilling effect whereby if you express a politically incorrect viewpoint you're now being sort of shamed and you could be fired. >> matt, did anybody come out for martin bashir's right to free speech? >> most conservatives thought that martin bashir should not be fired, should not be let go. >> he resigned. >> i don't know if anybody -- i would also say that's -- >> free speech is free speech. >> that comment vastly different than expressing a position which, look, i think this is entirely defensible. ilt his opinion. will we create a -- >> matt -- >> it's suspension. it's not fireable.

>> let me say a & e as thomas said is a business that's in business to make money. right. so, they also have the freedom to fire somebody, right, if they suspend somebody if they want to do it. >> absolutely. >> but i think this is part of a larger trend where you are seeing coercion and people who hold politically incorrect political and religious viewpoints being essentially punished and there's -- the message is simple. if you disagree with homosexuality politically or from a religious standpoint keep your mouth shut. >> matt, i'm sorry. i know we have to go. but he just said listen i want to talk about tissue of homosexuality and i personally because of my christian beliefs believe it's a sin i don't think we would welcome back having this discussion. what he said was disgusting. he doesn't represent what -- >> i don't necessarily agree with him --

>> no, but you're holding him up as some sort of thought leader. did you hear what thomas roberts read? that was disgusting. would you want that on the daily caller? would you like have that on the daily caller? would you like to have someone speaking that way about homosexuality. >> it's not the way i would have presented it but i would defend his position, his right to say it and i don't think we should have this position where we wring our hands and punish people and -- >> it's called capitalism. it's free speech. >> it's capitalism meets free speech. >> i'm going to find all the shocking things that rock stars and movie stars have said from the left and i'm going read them on this air and we're going to just start, do we start demanding that they all be fired from their record labels. come on. the hypocrisy here is

outrageous. >> it's not hypocrisy. >> there's such hypocrisy here. >> miley cyrus simulating sex with an older man should have been fired. >> we'll continue this. thomas, thank you. matt thank you. we'll continue this. and enjoy your ipad. >> thank you my husband patrick. >> good to see you. we'll be right back. ♪ [ male announcer ] how could a luminous protein in jellyfish, impact life expectancy in the u.s., real estate in hong kong, and the optics industry in germany? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 70% of our mutual funds

beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing. open to innovation. open to ambition. open to bold ideas. that's why new york has a new plan -- dozens of tax free zones all across the state. move here, expand here, or start a new business here and pay no taxes for ten years... we're new york. if there's something that creates more jobs, and grows more businesses... we're open to it. start a tax-free business at startup-ny.com.

avo: thesales event "sis back. drive" we're open to it. which means it's never been easier to get a new 2014 jetta. it gets an impressive 34 highway mpg and comes with no charge scheduled maintenance. and right now you can drive one home for practically just your signature. sign. then drive. get zero due at signing, zero down, zero deposit, and zero first month's

payment on any new 2014 volkswagen. hurry, this offer ends january 2nd. visit vwdealer.com today

>> they let me literally work with their regular news team. i read the news. i think there was a warehouse fire in which they used 5,000 gallons of water. >> that's a lot of water. >> there was a santa claus beard growing contest. it was a big news day. yeah. >> did they make some kind of a deal with you where you flew out the north dakota? >> our deal was you can't announce i'm coming on the show. we literally want people to turn on their tv and say what the [ bleep ] is going on? [ laughter ] >> okay. welcome back to "morning joe." mark halperin and julie pace are still with us. here with us now the moderator of "meet the press" david gregory and nbc chief foreign affairs correspondent and host of "andrea mitchell reports," andrea mitchell. good to have you on board this morning. i bet you're so unhappy that you missed the last conversation. you wanted to be a part it. >> i want the vegamatic.

>> do you want some kale? >> can i pass. >> my wife makes that all the time. >> i'm getting joe -- i can't -- >> really? >> look at this. that's going to go well. >> my presents are always so much fun. >> i didn't do it. >> so david gregory, "duck dynasty" -- >> come on now. >> lively discussion. >> i thought it was fascinating, actually. can i just go there a little bit more. >> sure can you. >> i have to tell you if phil robertson, i've never seen the show, i guess i will now at this point. it may be gone. look, if he had a very serious conversation about what people believe is a sin versus not, a lot of people believe pre-marital same sex is a sin, a lot of people believe divorce is a sin. a lot of people believe homosexuality is a sin. they accept people around them

who do it or find themselves in that situation. and i think it's become taboo, homosexuality and gay marriage to talk about almost like race to the point where people are getting -- but i don't think this "duck dynasty" star is a great representative of someone who was making an intelligent argument. it was crass. >> i don't think this is a free speech debate. these are companies that make these decisions based on their own morality clauses and contracts which say if you offend a certain amount of people or offend us or cross that line which we'll decide we'll take some action. i don't think this is an issue as to whether somebody has a right to say about these things. >> you know what will happen. they slap him on the wrist and now say after a certain on time come on back because they ain't cancelling "duck dynasty." it's about money, money, money. >> it's popular show. it's similar to what we talk

about in politics sometimes where of end it's not necessarily the position that you hold or the policy that you believe in it's how you present it. you can have two politicians believe in the same thing and one says something more controversial than the other. >> if you're a republican running for office, just don't talk about rain. just keep your mouth shut. and if you're talking about homosexuality and gay marriage, just keep the word beastality out of there. what he said was so unnecessary. mika is right if he just said i'm a christian, i believe homosexuality is a sin just like i think divorce is a sin, just like i think lusting after women is a sin, i don't think we would be having this conversation right now. >> we wouldn't.

i think the -- >> it was all offensive. but offensive to me and to a lot of other people. i'm not a fan of the show. i haven't ever seen the show. i didn't understand what was going on during the award ceremony with the show. a business decision. as david said it is up to the producers, the network. >> to decide. >> and because it's so wildly popular they will make the business decision to work through this. and invite him back. >> unless the family chooses to take the show some place else because they don't like the way they were treated. twitter suggested he's made past controversial statements that's coming to light. he'll have to answer for more than just the recent comments, but it's a huge show for them. at the same time they will have to stand by the values that they projected by saying that what he said was unacceptable. >> politicians are jumping in on this. i think it's silly for them to

do that. they look dumb. >> this is a question whether one's views about homosexuality, for instance, are acceptable any more in the political space. i think what we're seeing on left and right is theres a shrinking universe of people who want to hear what they say. we know younger voters, conservatives and liberals believe that this issue has moved in a way that makes them less comfortable with passing that kind of judgment and politicians are responding to that and they respond in huge ways over the past four years. so i think some of this becomes -- is this a conversation you want in the political sphere, we may have it in the public space if somebody on television does this. >> if you're a really libertarian you believe your personal views on social issues

are your own but it doesn't belong in this environment. >> republicans that jump on this it's an i.q. test. it's short term cat nip. to talk about this now the way some are long term is a big mistake. >> you have to be careful. he said things in the past. you come out and side with him on this that it will come back to you. >> you can talk about the issue generally. my only advice if you want to talk about the advice generally and say certainly for thousands of years christians have believed and followed the teachings of jesus, and the bible and/or thou orthodox jews. if you're an orthodox christian or jew or muslim that's your belief. i don't think a & e would have suspended him if he just state offed his views. i do think politicians need to be careful to associate

themselves with him just like they need to be careful in associating themselves with george zimmerman because you never know when the next blast comes from the zimmerman case. everybody rushed to judgment and made him a folk hero. >> the obama administration -- this is a fascinating conversation. i would love to continue it. because i'm scared to say what i'm about to say. >> the obama administration -- >> should i say it? okay. i'll wait. i'll think about it before i say it. >> don't do that. i never do that. >> exactly. i'll think about it. the obama administration is making final preparations for the health care law's tax penalty goes into effect in 2014. last night white house officials announced americans who had their health care policies cancelled because of the affordable care act will not be

penalized next year. policy holders will be able to get an exemption freeing them of the requirement to have health insurance by the first of the year. and many will be allowed to purchase the most bay civic plans something the administration had long sought to avoid. in response the insurance industry's main trade group issued a statement reading quote this latest rule change could cause significant. >> built in the marketplace and lead to further confusion and disruption for consumers. republican lawmakers have claimed number of cancelations would exceed the number of people signing up for health care through exchanges. however, the white house refupts that claim saying fewer than 500,000 lost coverage because of the law. >> david gregory, another step back for the white house. they said earlier ted cruz wins. really. >> no. >> no. republicans that wanted barack obama to delay this for a year have gotten their way certainly

on this key part of the affordable care act. >> what the white house is doing is soften the blow in any of these problematic areas, and delay what they can because i think what they understand is that the website was just step one. there's all these other deadlines, all these potential sticker shock issues and poor performance issues that will keep bringing up the same debate and i think this is one. i think the real fear here is the insurance industry warns this is all about efficiency in health care cost, keeping health care costs down. if the insurance industry sees too much volatility they will strike premiums up. then people will see more price volatility and that obviously cuts against the goals of obamacare. >> certainly, if you aren't forcing people to get insurance, which the white house is not going to do now, the insurance companies are going to have to raise rates for everybody else. if you're forcing them to cover pre-existing conditions, if

you're forcing them to keep, you know, kids on their parents' insurance policies until they are 26, that's -- boy, that's a real problem for insurance companies, and they spike the rates and then that causes a real problem for democrats and supporters of this health care. >> what we don't know yet, everyone was focused on the website for obvious reasons and on the numbers of people signing on but what we don't know yet is what will happen once these, you know, the numbers, the metrics show up in the new year, and how many people, what is the mix going to be, what is that going look like. what will the marketplace do. the marketplace takes over. what's the you see costs go one way or another. anecdotally every increase will be held up. >> they don't have a lot of time for it to work itself out

through various, you know, surprises -- >> very complicated -- >> the blue class will wait and scrutinize each element of this. is this nature of what the law is. >> chuck todd is at the white house. let's bring him in. chuck, the headlines at "new york times" pretty straightforward another rule in the health care law scaled back obviously causing concerns for insurance companies. causing concerns for progressives that know exactly how this piece of legislation is put together and what is needed to make it work. but now the individual mandate for a lot of people delayed for a year. >> it is. you know, if you put together all the different ways that they have delayed or grandfathered certain things in, it is sort of remarkable because in the last, i would say three months all the different delays and rules that the administration has made for this one year exceptions in the various ways add up to the point

you made earlier -- granted some republicans were trying to call for a delay because -- not so secretly wanted to kill the law they weren't delaying it, they were calling for delay in order to find more political time to kilt. but in essence what they are doing is the administration is agreeing delay so many parts of this law. i don't think -- i'm starting to wonder if anybody is ever going to pay the penalty in the first year. is there a single person that is going to be responsible for paying that $95. >> why did they back down on this? >> all right. let's look at it this way. their concern was you have all these people with cancelled policies that had insurance. here they are coming up to the end of the year with a possibility with a law designed to give more people insurance have people without insurance. on that basic premise that's upside down.

that's not what the law -- why they passed the law in the first place to kick people off insurance. they passed the law to get people more insurance. the thing they did with this exemption, if you got a cancellation notice from your insurance company you can apply for a hardship and get this catastrophic policy. but if you don't like the prices but aren't eligible for subsi y subsidies, but if you aren't eligible and didn't get a notice you can't apply. it's arbitrary what they did here at the last minute. that's why insurance companies are upset. other than to placate people. >> andrea, let's change topics and go to "duck dynasty." i'm going to give you a choice, you can talk about "duck dynasty" or you can talk about china. and max baucus. your choice. if you choose to talk about

china instead of "duck dynasty," talk about, i mean befuddlement on both sides that max baucus who we all know and respect as a capable legislator is going to probably the most important country on the planet as our ambassador and only been there five, six times. >> i've also been befuddled. china is the most potential adversary we face. look what they are doing in the south china sea, the east china sea, declaring new zones. going up against japan. japan and south korea are nervous. these are our most important allies. we have to have enough leverage

with china. >> and north korea. dennis rodman is there. >> okay. >> so, chuck, let's just talk about the politics of it all. is this too crude of an interpretation i heard this from senators on both sides of the aisle yesterday behind closed doors. you send max baucus to china. he resigns his seat. a democrat is a-pound. you have a democrat running as an incumbent in 2014 and more importantly you have mary landrieu in louisiana who is now the chairwoman of the energy commission, she gets tons of money in that campaign. can go around the state of louisiana saying nobody else on capitol hill is more powerful when it comes to the number one issue in louisiana than i am. >> you can't help but wonder if harry reid hasn't been thinking about this. max baucus who isn't afraid to say things that maybe the administration doesn't want to hear when it comes to the health care law, remember he's famous for the so-called train wreck

when he was talk about the implementation, a phrase that i think every republican running for office in 2014 is going to repeat over and over again, you get to send max baucus 12 hours away so that he'll miss every news cycle when it comes to health care. i was with andrea on this about you raise your eyebrow. max baucus to china. one of the things and andrea know this. if china didn't like this idea they would have voiced their concern. apparently the reason they really like the idea of having max baucus here, they don't have -- they've never understood how to work capitol hill in this country. china's government. the idea that they get to learn from a u.s. senator, a former u.s. senator and at least get an idea of how our system works a little bit when they are trying to lobby for various things in this country is what apparently makes them happy about this pick.

>> i think why i'm skeptical is because he was tough on trade with china. he is not their idea of an ally or anyone that they want to deal with. i think they like it because it's a weak ambassador, and they know they don't have to deal with him. he's not particularly close to the president. chuck, you would know this better than i. it's not like caroline kennedy who has a lot advantages in that want she's close to the president or the japanese feel good. >> or the outgoing ambassador to china who was a rock star in china, he speaks man darin and his family is from china. >> i will speak truth not in the spirit of the holiday season. lot of republican senators and democratic senators don't think max baucus is that smart and that able. it's a complicated job. the economics are a big part of

it. the national security stuff is huge. >> who messed up health care back two years ago was it not max baucus and the finance committee that stretched i want out all summer. >> all i'll say about max because kur baucus came and talked to bus a year ago. he said i'm concerned that kathleen sebelius and hhs don't have their -- this was a year ago is. he said for democrats -- i'm talking about what chuck said that he was not a friend of the obama administration. he said if they don't get their act together at hhs this is going to be a nightmare for democrats going into 2014. he was dead on that nobody else was talking about. >> think how important your

choices of ambassador to china at this point. i want goes back who was their first choice, jon huntsman. how did that work out? >> chuck, thank you so much. we'll watch you on the daily run down. david what do you have on sunday? >> we'll talk to christine lagarde about the u.s. and global economy. >> andrea stay with us if you can. >> coming up next, chris matthews joins the table here in washington, d.c. and we'll give him the option to talk about "duck dynasty" or he can pass. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. i do a lot oresearch on angie's list before i do any projects on my home. i love my contractor, and i am so thankful to angie's list for bringing us together.

find out why more than two million members count on angie's list. angie's list -- reviews you can trust. life with crohn's disease ois a daily game of "what if's". what if my abdominal pain and cramps come back? what if the plane gets delayed? what if i can't hide my symptoms? what if? but what if the most important question is the one you're not asking? what if the underlying cause of your symptoms is damaging inflammation? for help getting the answers you need, talk to your doctor and visit crohnsandcolitisinfo.com

to get your complimentary q&a book, with information from experts on your condition.

25 past the hour.

joining us here in washington, you can hear him, you can hear him, the most of msnbc's "hardball," chris matthews. >> i'm trying to figure out what chris wants to talk about. i have chris on so much. >> large print edition, who does a large print edition. i love this. >> isn't this cute >> this i can read. it's very cute. look at the writing. seriously. >> that's big. >> that's how my grandma's reader's digest used to be. >> that's for people who wake up later. >> it's actually for me. >> so the book, what's the reaction? >> good. a lot of people think it's my best book. i've written seven of them. it's about the inside which you can write some day what it was like to be in the house. we only see on television during the five day recap in florida. that's the only time in history

of being on television in print people have seen our politics worked. it's not about speeches, it's not about debates or advertisements, it's that back room skirmishing where each side plays its edge and works the other guys weakness and is rough. >> i won't see you again until the new year. so let me ask you this question. who is the political winner of the year? would it be easier to ask who is the loser. >> pope francis. i think he's the best news to hit religion since the '60s, since pope john xxiii. all kind of people come up to me and we chat about it. there's a sense across the political spectrum of this growing divide. we meet people that are billionaires. but most people don't know anything about that world don't know what their houses look like or vacations look like they

don't know that world at all. college experience where you just write the check for college. most people don't know what it's like. nobody knows what it's like to write a check for your children to go to college. so the zooming super class and most people who can't keep up with the cost of living starting to keep up with their races, and i want gets tighter and tighter. the pope not by saying he's a socialist. he might be. he came out and said we have to worry about this trickle down thing. we have to worry about economics geared towards the wealthy. he's not an economist. he's not a statesman. he's a religious guy concerned about poor people. >> who else who has talked about growing disparity between the rich and poor, alan greenspan. it's not that radical of a notion. the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. you can't blame one president or one party. ate great challenge.

pope francis a man for our time. political losers of the year? >> terrible year for the president. >> can you go back a year ago the president was getting ready for his second inauguration. >> there's another piece. it's not just a bad year in terms of the rollout. there's an erosion in interest. it feels like a very long presidency. feels like the seventh or eighth year of a presidency. doesn't feel like the fifth. there wasn't that rejuvenation that comes with a re-election. there was no sense of wow. i think that's hurt him a lot. we've had presidents come back from iron contra, eisenhower and sputnik and recession in '58. i was going through the last three or four presidents that had two terms. they come back in the last year two. he's young. he's got to come back with some gusto. >> reagan came back. clinton came back.

they all ended -- >> he was impeached. >> he was impeached. they all had a, let's say, little more, a few more achievements under their belt. julie, this -- go back -- you know, conservative, it took conservatives about a year to figure out how radical george w. bush's inaugural address is, second inaugural address and then we started shaking our heads saying end tyranny? on all four corners of the globe? if you went back and heard what this president was talking about in his inaugural address, i'm not talking about the radicalism, bust how disconnected it's been from the reality of the year that's been followed. >> i spontaneity lot of time reading that inaugural address. when you read it it is incredibly expansive. it's very bold. he has a lot of priorities. immigration being at the top of that list. he talks a lot about climate change. he talked a lot about gay rights

and guns. it was a bold vision for the country and you look at where he ended up at the end of this year and the white house said we give a speech on climate change and implement those things over next couple of years. if that's your biggest accomplishment you're in a tough spot. it's unclear how he gets out of this rut. immigration gives him the best chance to do that. beyond that what does he have coming up next year? >> because we got three more years, right? >> what needs to be done at the white house? >> i think there needs big ideas. on climate change he gave a really good speech on that. >> you can't pass big ideas through the house of representatives. right? >> they have no follow throw. they've made a change now in legislative affairs which i think was one of the weakest parts of the white house. people on the hill never heard about the head of legislative

affairs. so now they've brought in a new head of legislative affairs and john podesta. not likely enough to make the big changes that julie is talking about. the follow through. who is going to -- >> it's not going to work. it's bizarre. i'm not going to wake up at 4:00 in the morning for the next couple of months. >> i have malaria. >> because you were in vietnam. >> before you were born. that's okay. >> mark, what's happened over the past year that's turned this, you know, re-election win and hopeful expansive inaugural address into what we see at the end of the year? >> first and foremost health care and the troubled implement jays but that broad expansion agenda is too liberal for this

house of representatives. it may be popular with parts of the country. he has to reconcile himself that john boehner will be speaker of the house for the rest of the term. and the suggestion he should follow john podesta he has to get past house of representatives. he does need something big and bold and has to find the center of the country. he won't govern on the left successfully. >> there's a center -- i don't think he'll pass citizenship. i don't think it will happen. but there are ways -- like i say compromise. you can get a minimum wage increase if you go into the marketplace and offer something to the republican side. this isn't a big winner for them. the public is all for it. it doesn't cost the government a cent. >> ideologically i was opposed to the minimum wage. that would be a great debate for

the white house to see. >> there's a conflict on the right, hard right, nasty right. if you make fun of people for being unemployed or underemployed help them make more money. your against the working poor. are they bad guys or good guys? treat them like good guys. you can't make enemies of the working poor and say we don't like the bums or those with fancy fingernails or help the people that are trying to work and you got to take sides with the worker bees. you may not have a great education but you're going to work every day. you're showing up. you're doing your job. >> or three jobs. >> i think it's just absolutely a sin that people who make the minimum wage cannot afford to live and on the big question i

think big and bold, the president doesn't need anything else big and bold. needs to focus on the jobs and the economy and make health care work. if he makes health care work that will be his legacy beyond the little microscope of every year what he won and what he lost it will be 10 years, 20 years. >> who is in charge of health care? >> i don't know. how can you fire there's nobody in charge? is he like the guy that puts the cones out. chris christie says i'm the guy that does it. who is the coo. >> it's a good question. they have to decide going into the new year will they be focused on beating the republicans in 2014 and trying to get the house back and trying to hold on to the senate and that's legitimate. if they choose to do that they need go all in with that. are they going decide they will face a political reality that john boehner is speaker of the house and they got to get all leverage jays through the house

and that's another decision. they can't go halfway. they got to go all in. it's eater to destroy the republicans politically or figure out how to pass legislation through the house. i think the second choice is the smartest choice and they need to do what bill clinton did to us. set republicans up with a lot of these issues like minimum wage that puts people like me in a difficult position instead of being back on their heels like they have been for the past five years. >> let's not kill republicans to let minimum wage goes up. >> let's see what happens. i think it's a big win for the president if he goes that way. but it can't just be that by itself. it is to be a package. >> chris matthews, thank you. i love the -- what's this? large print edition. >> it's a great gift for somebody who watches this show. >> i'm going to -- >> great gift and a great story

and i love -- this is actually the story -- >> you guys are -- >> this is what we're talking about what the president need do. this is what tip o'neill and ronald reagan did. tip o'neill's son said the only thing my danielle adams hated more was ronald reagan's philosophy was gridlock in washington getting nothing done. they got things done. buy this book. it will change your life. merry christmas. >> the large print edition is a bigger sell. >> "hardball." >> it's better at 7:00. >> much better at 7:00. that's what they say. >> that's my slogan. >> coming up, it's been nearly ten years. willie geist checks in with the cast of "anchorman" their long

awaited sequel. we'll be right back. ♪ [ car beeps ] ♪ ♪ we're gonna need a bigger bucket. ♪ [ male announcer ] more people are leaving bmw, mercedes and lexus for audi than ever before. the holidays won't last and neither will the season of audi. visit audioffers.com today. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ tires screech ] chewley's finds itself in a sticky situation today after recalling its new gum. [ male announcer ] stick it to the market before you get stuck. get the most extensive charting

wherever you are with the mobile trader app from td ameritrade. wherever you are with the mobile trader app hoo-hoo...hoo-hoo. hoo-hoo hoo. sir... i'll get it together i promise... heeheehee. jimmy: ronny, how happy are folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico? ronny:i'd say happier than the pillsbury doughboy on his way to a baking convention. get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more.

all right. coming up senator baucus' office is pushing back and also joining us "new york times" reporter amy lowrey looks at the economy.

that's all coming up next on "morning joe." [ male announcer ] this is jim,

a man who doesn't stand still. but jim has afib, atrial fibrillation -- an irregular heartbeat, not caused by a heart valve problem. that puts jim at a greater risk of stroke. for years, jim's medicine tied him to a monthly trip to the clinic to get his blood tested. but now, with once-a-day xarelto®, jim's on the move. jim's doctor recommended xarelto®. like warfarin, xarelto® is proven effective to reduce afib-related stroke risk. but xarelto® is the first and only once-a-day prescription blood thinner for patients with afib not caused by a heart valve problem. that doesn't require routine blood monitoring. so jim's not tied to that monitoring routine. [ gps ] proceed to the designated route. not today. [ male announcer ] for patients currently well managed on warfarin, there is limited information on how xarelto® and warfarin compare in reducing the risk of stroke. xarelto® is just one pill a day taken with the evening meal.

plus, with no known dietary restrictions, jim can eat the healthy foods he likes. do not stop taking xarelto®, rivaroxaban, without talking to the doctor who prescribes it as this may increase the risk of having a stroke. get help right away if you develop any symptoms like bleeding, unusual bruising, or tingling. you may have a higher risk of bleeding if you take xarelto® with aspirin products, nsaids or blood thinners. talk to your doctor before taking xarelto® if you have abnormal bleeding. xarelto® can cause bleeding, which can be serious, and rarely may lead to death. you are likely to bruise more easily on xarelto® and it may take longer for bleeding to stop. tell your doctors you are taking xarelto® before any planned medical or dental procedures. before starting xarelto®, tell your doctor about any conditions such as kidney, liver, or bleeding problems. xarelto® is not for patients with artificial heart valves. jim changed his routine. ask your doctor about xarelto®. once a day xarelto® means no regular blood monitoring -- no known dietary restrictions. for more information and savings options,

call 1-888-xarelto or visit goxarelto.com. here with us now we have economic policy reporter from the "new york times," elmly lowrey. we'll talk about the minimum wage in a moment. interesting you didn't get it but mark halperin, andrea and i got an e-mail. i think it's interesting because we all got the same e-mail from max baucus' office. subject line. that was a bit harsh, no, andrea? good morning. i just saw the spot on "morning joe" and must say i was a bit surprised how harsh the criticism was of senator baucus. >> the panel completely glossed over the fact that the senator

established solid credentials with the chinese on the trade front. >> in particular hold on. i'm trying to catch up. >> some background information high lighting senator baucus's work on china related issues and a long list. we all got the same e-mail. >> i'm feeling very left out. i didn't get it. >> some highlights from the press so far. let me know if you need anything. all the best. we need something. >> in 1999 he supported the wto, which is the world trade organization. >> on paper he's called. he's worked on trade issues which is a huge part of the relationship. we're not reflecting our personal opinion before about senator baucus we're saying what a lot of senators -- >> and foreign policy leaders. >> is this really the most qualified person to fill this critical job. >> max baucus office pushing back.

you have a piece on minimum wage. why is this even an issue, i'm sorry i'm just going to state my opinion. it should be raised. people cannot make a living on the minimum wage. so it shouldn't even be called a wage. am i wrong? >> you get a lot of push back from businesses. a lot of big businesses desnice. small businesses dispeise this. i think that this is not going to have a strong disemployment effect if you raise the minimum wage moderately it won't lead businesses to lay off a lot of workers which is bad. but it's a policy that has limited effect. won't do anything for folks unemployed, won't do anything for the working poor who are on salaries or whose wages are too high to get hit by this and there's millions of those. from washington the good thing about raising the minimum wage is it doesn't cost anything.

you help these people who, the economy remains really tough. who want to work, who are working. >> the business angle and then the political angle julie you can jump in. let me read from your piece. is it greg jellenick from costco. paying employees good wages makes good sense for business. he said earlier this year, calling for a federal minimum wage increase costco pays a starting wage of $11.50 an hour in all states where it does business. we know it's profitable in the long term. he should know. he started his career as a check out boy, unlike any other form of wealth redistribution, raising the minimum wage is basically cost free to washington, and it won't hurt the unemployment rate as some research suggests. washington figures why not slip those fast food joints the bill.

i mean, the guy has a business model but a lot of companies are really -- they just don't care if people can't live on their wages. >> the republican argument tends to be small businesses are posed to this. in your story it seems like you found some business people who say the opposite. >> yeah. i mean certainly there's going, if they raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour there's some businesses that will have a lot of trouble with that, especially small businesses. that's true. they do these big aggregate business surveys they find when you raise the minimum wage it's easier to fill vacancies and less turnover. so they are getting more out of their workers. >> if you have a worker who can't live on what you pay them they are in crisis, 24 hours a day. is that what you want?

the article is in the upcoming issue of the "new york times," and thank you very much. >> thanks for having me. >> being a great if we could roll the prompter. that would being a great. willie geist what's next? >> i get to sit down with the cast of anchorman. it's time for christmas and new year's, but it's all about ron burgundy. >> obviously the 24-hour news made sense, but what would the third be? >> i was sitting there in the interviews and i thought it would be fun tow see the five of them on a "morning joe"-type show.

>> speaks of stashes, can you believe it's almost years since the first anchorman came out. kind of makes you wonder what they have been up to. i got a chance to sit down with them to find out. >> how did it come together? >> get the conch.

i realized they can't hear a conch. that's impossible. >> hello? >> it's a conch. >> all these years later. >> ron burgundy is everywhere. >> no. you married? >> no. >> i am so don't get any ideas. >> how have they been since? >> ron is down and out announcing the dolphin show at seaworld who is young and chastising children. a newsman comes in and starting an idea. >> we are starting a 24-hour news channel. >> that is without a doubt the dumbest thing i have ever heard. >> the years have been good to

fan tana. the story makes no sense. no way that can happen. i am photographing cats. >> why do you leave that behind? >> logic has never been a strong suit. >> it got damp. business with intermittent bouts of homelessness. >> feels like she hasn't fixed it. she is so close. >> what about brick. it's amazing that brick is still alive. >> why? why did you take him from us. >> brick, you are not dead. >> i'm alive! >> brick finds love. >> i like your hair. it looks like wet popcorn. >> thank you. >> he definitely finds his soul

mate in this movie. he is struck by lightning and sees the woman who is the perfect fit for him because they were both struck by lightning. literally and figuratively. >> anchorman 2 is in theaters right now. ♪

[ female announcer ] just about anywhere you use sugar, you can use splenda® no calorie sweetener. splenda® lets you experience the joy of sugar without all the calories. think sugar, say splenda™

. it is friday, december 20th. friday, aren't you glad? i'm scared. >> it's awesome. >> with us on set, we have msnbc and "time" magazine. >> have you done your christmas shopping? >> i have. i am ready. i get everything done. >> when? >> when i can. i plan things. there is not one thing, i have your present. do you have mine? >> i'm working on it. it went so fast. >> i have your kids's presents. >> you know what happens? we have all these events and they always give us these bags. seriously. i have yours too. she takes them in the basement. >> i have swag.

>> is that why you are always ready? msnbc swag. that's not -- i went christmas shopping. >> when did you have time? >> it's done. >> all my talk on amazon and going on there, i turned around and it was like december 18th. >> she is watching fewer full matches than you are. >> okay. >> i'm big this holiday season. >> i love my vitamix. >> why josh green is dressed like this. in the south of france buy

really expensive blenders. >> she looks healthier than you do. >> she does. >> i'm portly lately. the white house correspondent. what's wrong with that? i'm happy with it. you want to know my weight? >> no! >> 138. i'm at an all time high. what's wrong with my weight? it's awesome. >> off the rails lately. thank you guys for being with us. we have a lot to talk about. >> why don't we start with the news. congratulations. >> the obama administration is making final preparations before the tax penalty goes into effect in 2014. >> white house officials announced american who is had their policies canceled because

of the affordable care act will not be penalized next year. they will be able to get an exemption, freeing them from the requirement to have health insurance and many will be allowed to purchase the most basic of plans, something they have long sought it avoid. the insurance industry's main trade group issued a statement reading the latest rule change could cause significant instability in the market place and lead to further confusion and disruption for consumers. republican lawmakers have claimed the number of cancellations would exceed the number of people signing up through changes, however the white house said fewer than 500,000 have lot of coverage because of the law. >> the white house itself predicted up to 2/3 would lose their insurance and have to go into the exchanges.

we are talking about a year away. has ted cruz won? >> so i was prepared with the encouraging signs. namely the insurance industry and hundreds of millions of dollars saying the market may work. they cut their needs. >> they did. isn't the liberal argument for sometime that without the individual mandate and it makes sense. when you force people to get insurance, you don't have a large enough market and the scale to make this work. >> what you don't have is compelling the younger and healthier people, but it's worth making it work. this is not a delay of the mandate, but it's just for people who had insurance who lot of it and may not have time to get it before the deadline.

it's a much smaller portion and delaying the individual mandates. >> they are driving the insurance companies crazy. we have mandatory things that have to do that. the insurance will start on january 1st. >> if you don't do it to scale and have enough people going in, suddenly the requirements keep people on and suddenly it doesn't work. you pull the string and you keep pulling it. the whole thing unravels. >> this is a carefully orchestrated law. if one piece doesn't work, it affects the chain. they walked away from this 7 million estimate. it doesn't matter as long as the mix of people is right. if you are delaying the

provisions, it makes it harder to convince a young people that they have to sign up. they have effectively taken this issue. it's not a criticism. the politician in me said they helped mary landrieu. they just helped every democrat that was running to get away from this and promise until at least after the 2014 election. they helped the democrats up for reelection and the insurance companies. they hit the insurance company who is at some point will lose patience. >> sounds like they are. this is not the first time the insurance industry said we signed up. we are helping you and you are cutting us off at the knees. >> the public that are under estimating.

you talk to the people who are too complicated. there will be another delay. never going to get the sign ups until people feel this is america's health care system. >> it is here to stay. >> josh's point is correct. another rule in health law is scaled back and you are out there and say what is this thing? it's also disturbing that this law that was passed after a year and a half can be changed unilaterally by the white house one day. you make up and they pass another rule. >> i don't think there is serious legal questions. i think the white house can do it. everything transpired in the last couple of months with the exception of the website. they are getting a lot better.

>> i'm hearing that. >> if you go on to it, it was a disaster. they say it will be prepared for heavy volume when people try to get online. >> can i ask a question. why would you put this message out on friday, telling everybody we don't have to do it? . >> lots of people think they have coverage and they don't. people trying to get prescriptions filled. they are sensitive to pressure from senators. >> those are the stories. somebody shows up in january and they are not insured. >> there is a lot of confidence and there is a few days before

the new year. they need to be sure the system can function and get people signed up and make sure they have it before january 1st. make sure they don't have the confidence. they run the website and turn it over to the guy from microsoft. they need someone to run the policy. it's clear that there is neeb is in charge. >> where are is kathleen sebelius. she is capable. >> i always thought she was capable and whether the white house is low to delicate as much power as they should. whether they are partially culpable and she has other duties. >> she has to be into rehabilitated or gone. somebody needs to be with

confidence and credibility saying this is america's health care system. there will be changes as needed and she is very capable, but she detained it. >> why isn't she rehabilitated or gone. why isn't the white house leaving her? >> it's one of the flaws that they want to control the policy, but they have so much stuff going on that they can't. they leave someone out and you could empower and say you are the face of health care. she had a rough couple of weeks. every time she talks it seems like she has a misstep or maybe hasn't read the talking points when she was talking about the cancellations. they will have to make a decision and make it quick. either you empower kathleen sebelius or find somebody else who will be the face of this law. >> after weeks of debate, chris christie is poised to sign the

state's version of a dream act to allow undocumented imgrakts to pay reduced tuition to attend state colleges. he long avoided wading into the immigration debate, but on thursday he hailed the deal. >> this is what compromise looks like. i will be waiting for the apology letters to come in for those who said i was not serious about tuition. somehow this was a collection prank. the fact is that sometimes compromise is quiet and happens in slow moves and sometimes it's the result of -- >> the final version will not include tuition grants for undocumented students prompting a reporter to ask whether they were being treated as second class citizens. christie said there hasn't be second class citizens because

they are not citizens. >> was this an issue that got ric rick perry in trouble in the debates. he needed to be compassionate to the children who were not responsible for their parents's decisions. >> he used the word heartless. one thing i think people love well chris christie is he does just decide what is the right thing to do. this is i think good for him. there is all this talk about balancing the needs of the blue state constituents. he does what he thinks is right. he can defend that way and he is strong. >> the politics on the dreamers have changed for republicans since the 2012 election and republicans on capitol hill,

eric kantor needs to do something for the dreamers. this is an area where he is drafting legislation. republicans feel like if they are going to take on reform, this is a safe political piece of it. >> most americans would say hey, it's unfair to penalize children for the decisions. >> chris christie as much as anyone else recognizes you can't rerun mitt romney's campaign in 2016 and be as staunchly against immigration reform and the dreamer kids as romney is. >> it's about picking and choosing your battles. you can do all these things up to citizenship that won't make a lot in the media happy and democrats happy and even independents happy. at the same time if candidates are picking and choosing these areas, it casts people like chris christie in a different light. >> he was clobbered by that, but

it came back to boomerang on romney. you didn't like them. they have trouble putting through five or six individual bills in the house. they need democratic votes. it's still a real kabuki dance. i think there is a shot. >> i think so. i think you are exactly right. certainly democrats in the senate will have to accept less than what they want. you are not going to get citizenship through the house of representatives. you are not. you will get legalization through. a dream act and i heard a lot

that said we will not support a bill. >> senator reid will not move a bill. i think paul ryan has been freed up at least temporarily. he wants to do that because he believes in it. this is what he never did. >> the path to citizenship? >> there four reasons for republicans to do. they have to do better with hispanic voters. to keep the voters on obamacare. the last reason is they don't want to be the do nothing congress. >> coming up on "morning joe," we will check in with politico's mike allen and an update on the massive cyber crime at target stores. what they are telling millions of americans whose credit cards

may be compromised. this is a very bad, bad sign. first here's bill with a check on the forecast. >> good morning. christmas forecast looks fine. this weekend is a roller coaster ride. we will get warm and have snow. we will break it down. starting with temperatures. unusually warm up the east coast. temperatures near 70 by sunday and all that warm air that is in texas will slide up through the upcoming weekend. as far as the cold, this is the radar out of seattle. it is snowing all the way down from the valley floor in seattle. a rough commute here to seattle. maybe only an inch or two of snow. that's a big deal there in the middle of the morning commute. the weekend forecast, very warm in the southeast and not too much bad weather. saturday looks like a dangerous day. a big storm into texas with a strong line of thunderstorms and the possibility of a few

tornados. the area of greatest danger in red. arkansas, mississippi and louisiana. by sunday, those storms will be on the east coast. not tornados, but damaging winds in the carolinas. we had about eight inches of snow and the ground is covered. we will see no snow by sunday after it hits near 70 degrees. you are watching "morning joe."

[ male announcer] surprise -- you're having triplets. [ babies crying ] surprise -- your house was built on an ancient burial ground. [ ghosts moaning ] surprise -- your car needs a new transmission. [ coyote howls ] how about no more surprises? now you can get all the online trading tools you need

without any surprise fees. ♪ it's not rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade.

let's take a look at the morning papers. a theater ceiling collapses in london's west end. they reported a cracking sound in the middle of a packed performance. audience members say it was dark and dusty when a section of the roof and part of the balcony and lighting grid came down. london responders set up areas in storefronts and restaurants. 83 patients were treated and most released. somehow no one was killed. >> from the boston globe in the parade of papers, the backlash continues to mount after 40 million credit card accounts were compromised. it happened between november 27th and december 15th. credit and debit card numbers named, expiration dates and security numbers were all

compromised. target is warning customers to pay close attention to their bank statements. >> facebook with mark zuckerburg will sell more than 70 million shares. he will part with stock to use for taxes and charity workers. it comes ahead of the entry into the s&p 500 index. >> this comes from the mercury news. an online secret santa exchange left girl speechless when she found out her secret santa was billionaire bill gates. she was part of the gift exchange that paired participants around the world. her gift package had a travel book, a stuffed cow and donation to heffer international.

she saw him in a picture holding the card. >> extending the ban on public smoking to include e cigarettes. >> this is not smart. >> i don't think so. i don't agree with that. >> it's not smart. >> it's the final push before leaving office. in addition plastic food container distributors have until january to prove their products can be recycled. if not a ban will take effect later that year. the e cigarettes are helping people quit smoking? >> they are. if bloomberg had gotten more term, they would have been able to ban sex. >> i know what he is doing. it's controversial. >> he's into smoking. >> you have not taken a decision to ban sex? >> all right. should we look at the daily

news. >> i have never gone there. it must be good. >> "new york daily news." >> an unknown secret santa drops a $3500 diamond ring into the salvation army bucket in florida. it came with a note that reads please continue your good work caring for the needy in god's name. they said this is the fourth career in a row they received the diamond ring in the holiday season. >> that's nice. >> great. >> this weekend's magazine features ben stiller who stars in and directs his new film the secret life of walter mitty. it shares life-altering experiences. >> i haven't figured the out if that's going to be a good movie or not. >> the chief correspondent here with the morning playbook. mike? >> good morning and happy

friday. >> happy friday. >> earlier this week the president got 46 recommendations on from the task force in the white house and what to do with the nsa. this morning you have a look at which of the changes he might actually implement. >> when they put out the report and i think julie had the same thought, i figured they wouldn't have put it out if they were not going to do most of these recommendations. we checked around and sure enough, that's true. people close to the white house said he plans to do a bunch of them including having the data they sweep up with verizon and the other providers not with the government and having more adult supervision of the nsa third party guidance, including from the white house on who we collect and what we collect and priorities in doing it rather than just sweeping up everything. they said look at the past. he's a constitutional law professor. this panel gives him the cover to do what he wanted to do.

>> let me change topics. it's the third story right now. max bacchus being selected to go to china, politico reports it sent shock waves through the senate. i was on capitol hill with a half dozen senators. shock is a good word. the republican meeting about max bacchus who has been to china five or six times. we will make him ambassador. that's remarkable. >> it's a true surprise and this was. the key part of it was the campaign manager. he worked with bacchus and he came to him and said what would you think of this? he thought about it and said

sure. that means they can appoint a democrat. running for election and allows mary landrieu to be the head of the committee. is this all about politics? >> i don't know what kind of ambassador he will be, but he is involved in the trade issues. i remember the earlier time, everyone said this is going to be awful. it's terrible. sometimes they can be very, very good. >> china got the issue with the south china sea and the standard issues and spying issues. >> what do they tell me at the white house. >> they have not announced anything yet. when you look at this, it's hard to see it as anything other than

a play to take a democrat that is not well-known at the state. they try to guarantee that democrats can hold on to the seat. if that really is what happened, he went along with it. >> mare ke go around louisiana saying i'm the chair person of the energy committee. i'm the most powerful person in the senate and maybe on capitol hill. >> the politics come boring in. >> this is the kind of thing rahm would do. they have implications. they are so important and they focused on china. it's not clear to me. >> can we step back and say asian leaders and the japanese are excited. caroline kennedy is there and they have a star and that's

fantastic. people in foreign policy said really to japan. and now we are sending another rookie to chine? there is crumbling about this pivot away from asia. this is another suggestion that -- i like max, but the signal combined with caroline kennedy who we also know and like very well. i like my mom, but i wouldn't make her ambassador to china. >> it's a move that will raise eyebrows in asia at a time when they were looking at the white house and saying hey, you guys promised us a lot in this presidency. that's why joe biden was in asia earlier this month trying to -- >> cancel the trip to asia. >> they did send joe biden and it is a high profile trip. he takes on the china profile in

particular next year. >> up next, faith on fridays. cardinal donald world joins us to discuss how pope francis is shaking up leadership. "morning joe" will be right back. mine was earned orbiting the moon in 1971. afghanistan in 2009. on the u.s.s. saratoga in 1982. [ male announcer ] once it's earned, usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve current and former military members and their families

is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. ...are the hands that do good things for the whole community: the environment, seniors, kids, and animals. that's why we created the share the love event. by the end of this year, the total donated by subaru could reach 35 million dollars. you get a great deal on a new subaru. we'll donate 250 dollars to a choice of charities that benefit your community. it feels good to be a helping hand. you're talking to the guy who hasn't approved a new stapler purchase in three years. but then i saw the new windows tablet, with a real keyboard, usb port, and full office. it's a tablet that works for work. plus, it's got apps and games, for after hours, of course. compared to an ipad -- way more value. these tablets are such a steal;

i couldn't find a reason not to buy them. ♪ honestly, i wanna see you be brave ♪ [ female announcer ] let betty do the measuring and get a head start on delicious homemade cookies. visit bettycrockercookies.com for fun holiday ideas. betty crocker cookie mix. just pour, mix...love. betty crocker cookie mix. sleep traiends sunday! interest-free for 3 event it's your last chance to get 3 years interest-free financing

on beautyrest black, stearns & foster, serta icomfort, even tempur-pedic. plus, get free delivery and sleep train's 100-day low price guarantee. but hurry, sleep train's interest-free for 3 event ends sunday! superior service, best selection, lowest price, guaranteed! ♪ sleep train ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪

arch bishop of washington, d.c. and newly appointed member to the congregation of bishops. mark halpern and chris matthews back at the table as well. >> wonderful news. -it's good to have you back on the show. we were excited when we heard about it. pope francis, let's start broadly. let's talk about the francis effect. if you agree he is transcendent as i do.

what do you think the francis effect is on the church and the world? >> the first thing he is doing is bringing people a beautiful face of our catholic faith. i heard that religious leaders say to me he is showing all of us how to be a religious leader. he is saying here's how you do it. that's the great gift he is giving all of us. it's one thing to know your faith and to be able to try to follow. it's another thing to do it in such a way that you touch other people. >> he is certainly touching on one of the issues of our generation. that's a balance between rich and poor that we are seeing and in this country. do you think that pope francis is filling an important -- i

don't know if the word is correct, but void or something that the church has been missing of late? terms of the ability to include everyone? >> i think his voice today is a voice that needs to be heard. it's a message that needs to be heard. if we are going to be people who show a love for god, it has to be manifested in our love for our neighbor. the two are intimately tied together. he is saying look around you and see who all of these neighbors are. many of them, most are people are people in need. >> and we are all sinners. >> he adds this note that we are all sinners and we have to remember we are embraced by the love of god. that makes it worthwhile going forward.

>> you can feel in the college of cardinals that you decide there is an urge or a part of the college for this leader? >> it was said over and over again, in that period of time before we went in, it was time for us to have these confidential discussions that you can read in the front page of the papers. we had over and over again all of us saying the church needs to focus on the message. here it is, christmastime. got loves us and we should be voices of that love in the world. i think that's probably where we are guided. >> everyone hopes we will live long. we had pope john paul i very briefly.

sa the canonization set? >> it will be the sunday following easter. it is booked. john the 23rd and john paul ii. what a historic time. >> we have to go. i want to go. love that. i flew over with this great man. >> one of the strangest things to say, it sounds bizarre. i never felt better in the work i do here. the week i spent with john paul ii. looking down over it. we were broadcasting because of the time difference. the music was so inspiring and the three million romans that came out because he was a great pastor and a bishop of rome and went to church every weekend to celebrate something.

180 parishes by the time he died. all the poor polish people coming in. so poor. they didn't have anywhere to stay. it was like the eagles of the super bowl. they stayed up all night. >> he was amazing in the ability to galvanize young people at a time when the church felt alien to them. he brought them in. >> it's great and fortunate. >> it puts francis off to an incredible start with person of the year and receiving lots of attention. what are his goals for next year? >> he is focused on two things. the first is to continually lift up for all of us. the idea that god is a part of our life. god loves us. that's a simple message that gets lot of in all of the

excitement and nature of today. he is saying every person is invited to a personal relationship with god. he is working to see the structure of church. the focus is getting that message out. imagine the beauty of knowing, i have a personal relationship with god. that's what we need to hear over and over again. invite everybody into that. >> they seemed very well thought through and seemed to have had an effect and how sophisticated is he about the media and the impact of his actions? a lot of precision, it's a very, very important question. i think what we are seeing is

simply the spontaneity of a very authentic person. i will give you an example. we had a meeting about a month ago and he came into the room and instead of just a greeting, he pulled up a chair and sat down at a table. that doesn't happen. i don't think it was anything calculated. it was you are here and i'm here. why don't we just -- >> something great about people getting power late in life i discovered. >> it's very different. >> like reagan. the idea that people know this is the act that matters. this is not rehearsal. this is it. there is a sense of urgencey and grace that am cans with that. this is not a game. this is not a presentation. this is me. >> i think that's a very, very perceptive remark because he

does know this is what my life has prepared me for. we believe in providence and god guides us. his whole life has been a preparation for this moment. for however long that moment is, he has to be chief. >> living every moment. cardinal, thank you so much. it's good to see you and congratulations. up next, the rest of the duck dynasty clan. i'm so embarrassed. they respond to suspension of bill roberts at this time. i'm sorry, cardinal. we'll be right back. ♪ this holiday season, our priority is you ♪

♪ through 12 ice storms brewing ♪ ♪ 10 straight days raining ♪ 9 hailstorms pounding ♪ 5 mysteriously heavy holiday fruitcakes ♪

♪ 4 actual tree houses ♪ 3 blackouts ♪ 2 weird to mention ♪ and a roaming horde of carolers ♪ ♪ with my exact same route [ female announcer ] no one delivers the holidays like the u.s. postal service. priority mail flat rate is more reliable than ever. and with improved tracking up to 11 scans you can even watch us get it there. and look for our limited edition holiday stamps.

controversy surrounding one of the stars of duck dinafty is growing. this morning we are hearing from the rest of the family for the first time since patriarch phil robertson was suspended.

we have more from the family's headquarters in west monroe, louisiana. >> more distress this morning in the duck dynasty. late last night the family patriarch robertson casted doubt on the future of the show saying as a family we cannot imagine the show going forward without our patriarch at the helm. there discussions with a & e to see what that looks like with duck dynasty. while the family's religious beliefs are displayed on the show, the firestorm is growing since gq stated that before civil rights, blacks and louisiana were happy. no one was singing the blues and paraphrasing the bible listing homosexuals with male prostitutes with dunkards and swindlers. echoing comments he made in 2010.

>> women with women, men with m men committed indecent acts with one another and received the due penalty for their perversions. >> a&e is hearing an outcry from american who is find this distasteful and offensive and we won't stand for it. >> more than a million fans liked a new facebook page called stand with robertson. >> i don't see a problem. everyone should have the right to say what they wish. >> family friend bobby jindal. >> it may not have come across, he is a man with love in his heart who believes in treating people with respect. >> the controversy is not going away. >> gay people are upset with him and criticized that drunks and swindlers and now congress is mad at him. the guy can't win.

>> all right. so you know it's not what he said. i don't think anyone has a problem with someone who has an opinion. we have opinions on this show. it's just should not be an issue. how he said it is disgusting. he said a lot of other disgusting things. if the company doesn't want him around, it is the company's choice. >> it is the company's choice. if you don't want to work for anybody, you have freedom to say the wrong things. ann coulter doesn't work for anybody. you may not like it, but nobody can fire her. just like today, there older people groups and gay people advocacy groups and they are very tough and know how to put together a campaign. you go up against one of them and you will have an organization that is out there to get you for having done it. you don't act with impunity. >> i suggest he believe what is he says. >> for years it was accept believe in society and now it's

not acceptable to the point where you are in trouble if you do it. they won't sit there and say that's too bad. you have respected people who will say no. it's not going to go on anymore. you do use your force and your organizational power. it's a fact. >> i agree. this is not about free speech. >> it would be an interesting conversation if he made this point, but maybe in a different fashion. >> here's a different way of saying it. i think homosexuality is a sin and i believe that as part of my christian beliefs. i always believe premarital sex and divorce is a sin. you might be homosexual and i still love you, but i think it's a sin. does anyone think i'm going to get suspended for saying that? no. it happens to be the way i say it as much as it is what i'm saying. what that man said was

disgusting. it's all disgusting. he doesn't have love in his heart. the republicans who are jumping in front of him should be ashamed of himself because they are trying to make it political. read the article. >> this interesting gathering of the cotillian on the right is interesting. the anti-eastern establishment is responsive to they don't like collective thinking about this kind of thing. i'm not saying it's good or bad, but the game is working here. >> president bush 43 breaks his silence. >> really. we'll be right back. [ female announcer ] we give you relief from your cold symptoms.

you give them the giggles. tylenol cold® helps relieve your worst cold and flu symptoms. but for everything we do, we know you do so much more. tylenol cold®.

s. they let me they use 5,000 gallons of water. >> that's a lot, yeah. >> there was a santa claus beard-growing contest. it was a big news day. >> did they make a deal with you where you flew out to north dakota. >> you can announce i am on the show. you want people to turn on their tv and say what the [ bleep ] is going on. >> up next, what if anything did we learn today? ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ verizon now has the gifts everyone wants. that's powerful. verizon.

they don't know it yet, but they're gonna fall in love, get married, have a couple of kids, [ children laughing ] move to the country, and live a long, happy life together where they almost never fight about money. [ dog barks ] because right after they get married, they'll find some financial folks who will talk to them about preparing early for retirement and be able to focus on other things, like each other, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. >> time to talk about what we learn today. >> i learned i have to redo my

christmas shopping and it's vitamix blenders for everywhere. >> i might be confused, but robertson will be nominated for the ambassador to china and the pope plans to denounce it. >> rebuilding the american cities. >> i know him. i know i am getting joe for christmas. we are back on monday. >> hoping to have the effect of the law being the opposite of its purpose. senator chris murphy on what he saw when they joined the protest in ukraine and how vladimir putin would shape that out. the deep dog into da bears. how the super bowl champs changed the game on and off the field in ways still being felt